Apprentice 101

What can real-world business leaders learn from the popular NBC series "The Apprentice"? That's the question we posed to Maureen Moriarty, a professionally accredited executive coach and corporate leadership trainer who uses the show as a teaching tool in her Bellevue Community College course. Each week during the current season, she'll share her insights.

Episode 1: Street-smart John makes all the right moves
John, the project leader for Net Worth, proved himself to be a charismatic, unifying and inspiring leader. His was one of the best displays of leadership that I've seen on "The Apprentice."

Episode 2: Loss is net result of poor leadership, loose cannon
Savvy Trump sidekick Carolyn showed us what a balance of backbone and heart can look like in a strong leader. Meanwhile, project manager Brian's authoritarian and abrasive style of management resulted in mutiny.

Episode 3: Magna brews up a quitter and a bully
In the boardroom, Trump is modeling and perpetuating the very kind of kindergarten behavior that we see too often on "The Apprentice."

Episode 4: Both teams blow Trump away with bad taste
Good taste was the true challenge for the candidates in this episode. Both Trump and Deutsch refused to pick a winner -- both of these men recognize that you never reward poor behavior.

Episode 5: Apprentice 101: Street Smarts wins another one
The Street Smarts continue to prove that street savvy can win, with a 2-to-1 winning margin over the Book Smarts. Trump fired Magna (book smarts) Michael for being "just plain stupid"-- so much for academic brilliance.

Episode 6: Crash course in street smarts lifts Magna
Seattleite Alex took over the reins for Magna and led his team to victory by paying attention to his target market, listening to his team and delivering a smart promotion. Unlike rival Tara.

Episode 7: Emotional Audrey gets no team respect
Audrey apparently believed demanding respect would be enough to get it. Not so. Leaders must earn respect.

Episode 8: John needs to learn the art of negotiating
Maureen Moriarty: John's ego was front and center this week. In every encounter with the rock stars, he proved he has never learned to use his two ears and one mouth proportionally. When you are trying to sell something, you can rarely afford to have the biggest ego in the room.

Even savvy Carolyn learns something from show
While Carolyn Kepcher, Donald Trump's trusted boardroom adviser, was in town, I had a chance to chat with her about "The Apprentice," leadership, her boss and her advice for businesswomen.

Episode 9: Net Worth just could not 'do it' themselves
If a leader spreads negativity and a belief that her team is a failure, she's likely to see her team fail. Angie expected nothing great from her team and, in the end, she got exactly what she expected.

Episode 10: Trump has no room for the weak
Trump fired Stephanie for her lack of leadership following a debate about Chris' out-of-control personality, confirming that Trump favors angry dominating leaders over weak ones.

Episode 11: Seattleite Alex 'brought down' by teammates
Trump told Alex, "you hang out with losers, you become a loser." Successful executives understand that their personnel selections and team members are critical to business success.

Episode 12: Net Worth gets lost in boring details
Who knew that Trump had such a soft side? After firing Chris in the boardroom, he took the young man aside and, in a very sincere way, noted that he would one day be a "big success." The strongest leaders are able to show authentic compassion in the most difficult of situations.

Episode 13: Seattleite Alex among final 4, despite close call
Did Bren really think Trump was going to hire a candidate who confessed to not taking risks? Save those confessions for the confessional, Bren.

Episode 14: Prosecutor Alex didn't prep for Judge Trump
Alex should have had this one in the bag but he forgot the most basic of winning strategies -- you must be prepared, willing and able to fight to the very end of the battle, not just almost to the end.

Episode 15: Finalists face major personnel issues
The ability to deal with difficult people may be the ultimate challenge in this 16-week competition.

Episode 16: Street-smart Tana apparently never learned people skills
Kendra demonstrated her leadership ability by inspiring her team through the fast-paced challenges of event management. In sharp contrast, Tana's leadership performance inspired rebellion, not teamwork, by continually demeaning her teammates and shaming them in front of others.

Episode 17: Treating team well leads to big win
This season of "The Apprentice" provided some great examples of leadership dos and don'ts. These are a few of my favorites.

Candidate Alex rates competitors on high-profile job bid
Alex Thomason reveals some of the truth behind the hit "reality" show, why he thinks Trump's leadership style is flawed -- and why Kendra was a poor leader.

Best advice is to be yourself, says Season 2 winner
Kelly Perdew took time out from his duties managing three projects for the Trump Organization to talk with us about his experience on the show and working for Donald Trump.

See Maureen Moriarty's columns from last season.